The F word, manhaters and gender discrimination up for debate at University of Regina

Donica Belisle noticed a phenomenon while teaching a class about the history of women in prairie Canada.

When her University of Regina students would approach her with a question or a comment, it was often prefaced with “I’m not a feminist, but.”

Whether they were asking about the history of maternity leave or remarking on women’s suffrage, they “seemed really hesitant to identify as feminists,” said Belisle, a history professor.

They told her it was because they didn’t want to be called “radical” or “manhaters.”

It got Belisle thinking: “When did feminism become the F word? And even though people want gender equality, they don’t want to identify themselves with a movement that helped create gender equality.”

That theme is part of a panel discussion Wednesday night at the U of R — I’m Not a Feminist But… A Brief History of Canadian Women’s Activism. Alongside Belisle will be professors Darlene Juschka (women’s and gender studies) and Carmen Robertson (visual arts). Audience participation is encouraged.

“Regardless of whatever you think of Trudeau and his politics, even the optics of having female cabinet ministers in such key positions is positive,” said Belisle.

“I think absolutely” Trudeau is a feminist, Robertson added. “He’s a supporter of women and he recognizes gender equality.”

The panel will also address missing and murdered indigenous women — an issue tied to race, but a feminist concern first and foremost: “It’s because they’re women that they’re working in the sex trade and becoming victimized in this way,” said Belisle.

“The issues related to missing and murdered women go back to the 1880s and that gender discrimination” through the Indian Act, said Robertson.

Another topic is Canada’s progress since the 1967 Royal Commission on the Status of Women — “a little forward here and a little backward there,” said Belisle.

Because even though “we have maternity leave now, there’s fights for equal pay for equal work, there’s more attention paid in the workplace towards women’s childcare needs,” there are also events like the 1989 massacre at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, where 14 women were killed for daring to study engineering.

Domestic violence and public harassment aren’t going away, and there seems to be “a backlash against women’s rights,” said Belisle.

Which may be why her students are so hesitant to be identified with the women’s movement: “Is it because they’re facing a backlash in their personal lives? Or is it because there’s stereotypes about feminism that need to be addressed? This (conversation) is one way of getting at those questions,” said Belisle.

I’m Not a Feminist, But… begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. in room 106 of the U of R College Building (College Avenue Campus).